Holly Willoughby has thanked Celebrity Juice for 12 years of ‘fantastic chaos’ after confirming her departure from the long-running show.
The presenter, a judge on the irreverent pop culture panel show hosted by Keith Lemon, confirmed her departure in a lengthy Instagram post shared with followers on Sunday morning.
Addressing her followers, Holly, 39, insisted she only had happy memories from her time on the show alongside Lemon, the alter-ego of comedian Leigh Francis.
All over: Holly Willoughby has thanked Celebrity Juice for 12 years of ‘fantastic chaos’ after confirming her departure from the long-running show
Sharing a montage of images, she wrote: ‘Thank you @celebjuiceofficial for 12 years of fantastic chaos… I can’t quite believe what we’ve done and how quick that time has gone. Thank you to you all for watching..we’ve always had the loudest and best audiences.
‘Also a huge thank you to @itv2 for believing in the show in the first place and for all of your support…Over the years the production team has changed, however to anyone lucky enough to have worked on the show, they will know that we really do have the best time, it’s never felt like work and always been to me like a night out…
‘Thank you for all your ingenious ideas and hard work… all good things must come to an end and nothing lasts forever… It’s time for me to hand over my team captain seat to some lucky lucky person… whoever that is, know you are about to get one of the best jobs in telly working with one of comedies finest…’
Farewell: The presenter, a judge on the irreverent pop culture panel show hosted by Keith Lemon, confirmed her departure in a lengthy Instagram post shared with followers on Sunday morning
End of an era: Addressing her followers, Holly, 39, insisted she only had happy memories from her time on the show alongside Lemon, the alter-ego of comedian Leigh Francis
Thanking Francis, who launched the show as his notorious alter-ego alongside Holly and the now departed Ferne Cotton in 2008, she added: ‘@keithlemon… Where to begin… I remember starting this journey with you and saying ‘I think this might work’… my goodness me it did… three friends, you me and @fearnecotton.
‘… and that is what is at the heart of it.. friendship… I love the bones of you Lemon! Thank you for making me laugh for twelve years… I’ll be back as a guest and just to make sure someone is keeping you in check…
‘if I don’t see you through a week or next week or the week after… know you are always in my heart.’
Success: The show has proved to be enormously popular following its launch in 2008
Insiders say the decision comes as a blow to programming chiefs, who have long relied on her star quality to attract viewers.
Although Holly had worked in television for several years before Celebrity Juice, landing the role on the show in 2008 helped make her TV hot property.
She joined This Morning a year later and still hosts the show with Phillip Schofield. Celebrity Juice is also where the term ‘Holly Willoughbooby’ was coined to described her curvaceous figure.
Her resignation comes shortly after her husband Dan Baldwin – one of Celebrity Juice’s creators – stopped producing the ITV2 show.
The mother of three’s departure now throws the future of the series into doubt after its host said it would be over if she quit.
Moving on: Holly as quit ITV’s Celebrity Juice after 12 years starring as a team captain alongside Paddy McGuinness and host Keith Lemon
Day job: She joined This Morning a year after starting Celebrity Juice and still hosts the chat show with co-host Phillip Schofield
A friend of Holly’s told The Mail on Sunday: ‘She absolutely loves being on the show, she has loved it but she felt it was time now.
‘She wants to spend more time with her family, filming Celebrity Juice takes up an evening that she could be spending with her family.
‘She is, after all, one of the busiest women in showbiz.’
Yesterday, Francis paid tribute to Holly on Instagram under his guise as Keith Lemon, saying: ‘Love this woman. What an incredible sport. Always willing to get her hands dirty and join in. One of the boys but all woman.’
A spokesman for Holly last night declined to comment. It is believed the star will make an announcement on Sunday May 3.